BACK TO BASICS

I have just received a request for a blog post from my eldest baby who is off in Chicago on a J1 visa for the summer - learning to appreciate what a good time he has of things at home!!!!!!

He needs some familiar, easy, everyday type recipes - that use very little in the line of kitchen equipment (and dare I say skill - sorry son!!!).  I would appreciate any links for suitable recipes in the comment section - he'll be able to access them - thanks a million in advance.

Pasta dishes spring to mind - and I suppose the most basic of them all is a cheese sauce/mushroom sauce - here goes:

Cheese Sauce

You use equal amounts of butter and plain flour (say a tablespoon of each), melt the butter in a pan (medium heat) add the flour and stir until smooth (you need to do this for at least a minute to get rid of the raw flour taste).
Now (a whisk is good for this but a spoon will do) stirring all the time add milk - hard to give a quantity - just keep stirring it in until you have the right consistency - slightly thinner that you would think as the cheese will thicken it up again (don't worry you can always add more milk)
For anyone with a stocked kitchen, it is really nice to add some English mustard powder (1/2 tsp) and a few grates of nutmeg before adding the milk.
Add your cheese (plenty), grated or chopped up small, and there you have it.

Mac and cheese

Pasta
Cheese Sauce
Bacon (optional)
Mushrooms (optional)
Broccoli (optional, and because you need your greens!!)

Cook your pasta of choice - I usually use penne.
Drain the pasta and add the cheese sauce to it.
Fry up some rashers of bacon/bacon bits.
Saute mushrooms.
Steam some broccoli (getting the healthy theme here???)
Add all together and place into an ovenproof dish.
Scatter a bit more cheese on top and put in the oven at a medium heat.
Check after about 15/20 minutes - if it's bubbling on top, it's done.

Mind your hands taking it out of the oven - don't burn yourself!!!

Mushroom Sauce

Instead of adding cheese to your (slightly thicker) white sauce, add your slow cooked mushroom - this is good on freshly cooked pasta (no faffing about with ovens!!!)

Fried Fish

Buy some nice flat white fish.
Heat up a frying pan - should be nice and hot before the fish goes in.
Put some flour on a plate and mix in some salt (1/4 tsp to about 2 tbsp flour)
Place the fish on the flour - both sides. Brush off any excess.
Put some oil in the pan (olive is good but don't stress, whatever is there)
Fry the fish - skin side down first, you want this crispy.
Turn down the heat to cook the other side - won't take long, depending on the thickness of the fillet.
You can of course cook some prawns to go with it - or wait for your Mammy to do that when you get home!!!


Our Usual Salmon

Very easy, and very good for you.
Get a darn/fillet of salmon (you could use trout, any pink fish)
Sprinkle some Cajun spice on top and then bake in the oven for about 10/15 minutes.
Simples!

Fish Pie

Buy an assortment of fish - some smoked, and whatever else is cheap (better not to use oily fish here)
Poach in milk - place the fish in a saucepan and cover with milk, heat up gently until the fish is just slightly underdone.
Now take out the fish and place in an oven proof dish.
You can add some frozen peas at this stage (those greens again!!)
Make some white sauce, using the leftover milk.
Pour the sauce over the fish.
You can put mashed potatoes, breadcrumbs even some mashed up crisps on top.
Bake until bubbling.



I hope this is enough to get you going - and not too boring for everyone else!!!

I want to apologise for not being around for the past few months - the enormity of losing my sister just struck me with a hammer blow, and I needed all my energy to just do the day to day stuff ..... but I'm back!!!

SIMPLE SAUCE

As you are all well aware by now, I am an enthusiastic subscriber to the "maximum taste, minimum effort" school of cooking - and this sauce could be the school's emblem!!!

This is a redcurrant jelly, mint and orange sauce and it goes beautifully with roast lamb, wonderfully with lamb cutlets and is simply heavenly in a lamb sandwich!!!!!!

I use it to glaze  lamb chops (cutlets) before I cook them on the barbecue or ridged pan, and then add some more just before I serve them.  I use it instead of butter in a sandwich - virtuous deliciousness.  It is just sooo much nicer than mint sauce to serve with roast lamb, particularly if your lamb has been studded with garlic, rosemary and lemon.

The one stipulation is that you use a good quality redcurrant jelly, with as high a fruit content as possible - it really makes a difference, I have made the mistake of using an own brand jar (they had run out of the good stuff) and would never do it again!!  This recipe is a "Delia"!



Redcurrant, Orange and Mint Sauce

4 tbsp           redcurrant jelly
Finely grated zest from 1 medium orange
2 tbsp           finely chopped mint

Place these ingredients in a bowl and stir well , making sure that there are no lumps.
Decant to a serving bowl.
Wait for the ohhhs and ahhhs!!

TRUELY TASTY TOMATOES

Sometimes the really simple salads are the best.  This salad was an afterthought I just threw a packet of baby spinach in a bowl sprinkled over some semi sun(oven)dried tomatoes with their oil, olives  feta cheese and balsamic vinegar, it was really good.  Each and every flavour was distinct and they complimented each other beautifully.  Couldn't be easier or tastier!

A few years ago my wonderful friend K. gave me a gift of a days cookery course with Kevin Dundon in Dunbrody House.  We had a great time - and learned loads.  Although even Kevin was unable to teach me how to chop onions properly, I really wish I could chop onions properly (you know with the flying knife the way the chefs on telly do it!!)

One of the handy basics Kevin covered was Oven Dried Tomatoes, they are incredibly easy, and the slow cooking intensifies the flavour of the tomatoes (and can actually give some flavour to our awful supermarket specimens).  I have simplified the recipe a little over the years, and this is what I do:

Oven Dried Tomatoes

10          Tomatoes  (or about 40 cherry tomatoes)
4 tbsp     Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4             Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp     Chopped Fresh Thyme

Quarter the tomatoes or cut into eight if very large (cut cherry tomatoes in half)
Measure the oil into a small bowl and grate the garlic into the oil (this prevents the garlic charring)
Place the tomatoes in a roasting dish and sprinkle with the thyme.
Drizzle the garlicy oil over the tomatoes and leave in a warm oven for a few hours.*
They are ready when they have a slightly dried texture at the edges.
Store in a jar covered with extra virgin olive oil in the fridge.  (This oil is wonderful in salads)


*Kevin said to put the tomatoes into the oven after cooking the Sunday roast, and that the tomatoes would cook in the residual heat.  I have found that this is not enough to dry the tomatoes, and I roast them in a low (about 100 C) oven for  3 hours.

IN MY FREEZER

I love this stuff, it has the ability to change a "thrown together in a couple of minutes" dish into a "this is something that I have made with care and time" dish.  All this and yet so ugly!!

This is onion mush/onion confit/caramelized onions, and whatever it is called it is a wonderful thing to have a healthy supply of in your freezer (I take this so much to heart that I feel a low grade panic when my stock dwindles past a certain level!!)

I would recommend that you make onion mush on a day when you know you will be home as it does take quite a long time to cook, although if you follow Nigella's (it is of course a Nigella recipe)  directions exactly it could be made in a couple of hours, mine however takes about six hours - two reasons for this, I overfill my pans (just can't resist putting those extra onions in!!) and my hob's low setting is very, very low.

What do I use my onion mush for?  It's first function is always to make the best sandwich of all time, just take your bread/roll smear with mustard, then with the onion and finally with your meat/cheese of choice - heaven on a plate!!  Secondly it is a wonderful vegetable/garnish with a steak supper, the deep savoury sweetness of the onion is so much better than any harsh quick cooked type of onion.  Thirdly, and the reason why I make so much of the mush, it simplifies and improves the whole casserole and soup making process.  All you do is add a 50g (equals one onion) bag of mush to your dish at the beginning, (after browning your meat for a casserole) add the rest of the ingredients and you end up with a dish that tastes deep, comforting and cared for!

Also, and this is important, you can throw a casserole together in the morning, leave it in the oven (with the timer on) or slow cooker and you do not smell of onion for the day - reason enough to make it just there!!

Because the mush freezes so well I make a double batch, but this is the recipe as originally created by Ms Lawson.

Onion Mush

1 kg                  onions
1 heaped tbsp   butter
4 tbsp               olive oil
100ml               Marsala (I have used sherry and it was fine)
75ml                 boiling water

Peel the onions, then chop very thin (best done in the food processor).
Put a heavy based frying pan on a very low heat ( I use my Le Creuset casseroles) you might need two pans.
Add the butter and oil to the pan and immediately add the onion.
Add salt, press down the onions and add the Marsala and boiling water.
Cover with tin foil pressed down onto the onions shiny side down. (I actually cover the onions with greaseproof paper and then tinfoil)
Seal the pan with another layer of tinfoil and the lid.
Cook for about 2 hours at the very lowest setting (using a diffuser if necessary)
Check after and hour and give it a good stir, to make sure there is no sticking (if there is the heat is too high)
When your mush is very soft take off the lid and coverings and turn up the heat to evaporate any juices.
It is ready when the mush is soft and caramel coloured.
Cool and bag up into 50g portions.

I find that when I make the mush I am on a roll, and therefore use up the chicken carcases I have stored in the freezer to make stock.  I don't bother washing out the casseroles - add the chicken bones, an onion, carrot, stick of celery some herbs and of course water, and in no time my freezer is full with stock and mush and I can feel that I have this "Suzie Homemaker" stuff cracked (until I spot the pile of laundry to be done!!!)

LOVELY DAY

I had a lovely day yesterday, I headed over to Kilmacanogue to Avoca Handweavers for a cookery demonstration.  David "chefs don't burn things they caramelize them!" Roche was our chef/teacher for the morning, and although he professed having nerves for his first ever demonstration, none were evident.  It was an entertaining and educating experience (what a great combination).  David's demonstration was full of chefs tips - exactly what we were all after. 

He started with a pea and coriander soup, his tip here was to add your pepper with the butter and oil at the very beginning, as you would any other spice (I would usually season further into the cooking process).  Aren't the pea shoots a beautiful garnish?

David also showed us a pot roast salted chicken with lemon and rosemary - my lesson here was not to be afraid of the amount of salt and oil in the recipe,  he used a good handful of Maldon salt and 250ml of olive oil.  I don't think I could have used that much salt on a chicken until I saw David doing so.  He also told us that although there was a large quantity of oil in the recipe, you can reuse it the next time you cook this chicken and that it keeps very well in the fridge.

A fantastic Tarte Tatin was probably the most instructive part of the demonstration,  as smell plays a huge part in each stage of this dish.  I would never have had the nerve to allow the caramel get as dark as David did, and it was so much the better for it.  Then little pointers like bringing the caramel back to the simmer after the apple is added -  before covering  with the blanket of pastry.  Again allowing the tart to come up to heat before putting in the oven.  You know your tart is done when you start to smell appley caramel instead of baking pastry.  Finally and most importantly - don't turn out the tart for at least an hour after taking it from the oven.  Two reasons for this, safety... that caramel really burns! and because it tastes much better warm rather than hot.                                                            

 

David in full flow.  You can see here the beautiful gardens at Avoca.

After the demonstration I spent far too long (and too much) in the shop, but everything is just so appealing!

I would like to thank everyone at Avoca for a really enjoyable morning.

Apple Tarte Tatin

75ml       water

100g       vanilla caster sugar

20g         butter

5             golden delicious apples peeled, cored and halved

250g       all butter puff pastry (defrosted)

Preheat the oven to 200 C

In your oven proof pan of choice (fairly small - just big enough for the apples to fit snugly) place the water and sugar over a high heat. Simmer until the syrup becomes a dark golden colour.  It is really important not to stir as this forms crystals in the caramel. (and we don't want that!)

Stir in the butter, again swirl rather than stir.

Place the apples in the caramel as attractively as possible.  David put them on their sides.

Wait for the caramel to come back to a bubble, then place the pastry over the pan tucking it around the outside of the apples. 

Again continue on the heat until the caramel bubbles, and then place in the oven for about 20 minutes.

When the pastry looks and feels cooked and when you can smell the appley caramely sauce, remove from the oven (remember to use a cloth) and leave aside to cool.

When ready to serve turn your tart very carefully onto a plate.  (I intend to go outside for this bit!!!)

Enjoy!

FISHY, FISHY

Oh man, I've had "one of those days" niggles all day, little things going wrong, stubbed toes, forgotten lunch you know those days.

This evening I arrived home, started the dinner and brought the shopping in from the car. I left the first few bags on the kitchen table and went to collect the next lot - I heard a bang - turned around and a bag with two bottles of beer had fallen onto the floor and exploded everywhere!!!!!

Beer was all over the place, floor, walls and cupboards and as for the glass:-{

It was a good job I had started the dinner before the "incident", or we would have had a sandwich!

I am lucky to have a wonderful fishmonger in my local town, and they sell skinned, boned fillets of lemon sole. I served the fish with roasted baby potatoes and asparagus. It was nice to have something good to eat before washing the kitchen floor ... again.

Coriander Lemon Sole

Coriander Oil

Lemon Sole Fillets (also good with plaice, sea bass fillets in fact any white fish)

Garlic

Lemon zest and juice.

I lay the fish on a large piece of tin foil, enough to cover totally, spread with the coriander oil, zest of 1/2 lemon, and about 10ml of lemon juice. I grate a 1/2 clove of garlic over this. Fold the tin foil over the fish and bake in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillets)

Coriander Oil

Large bunch coriander

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Blanch the coriander by covering with boiling water for a few minutes. Dry the herb by squeezing in a dry cloth. Place the coriander in a blender and cover with the oil (about 200ml)

blitz well and season.

This oil keeps in the fridge for at least 2 weeks, and is great to serve with fish, chicken and pasta.

It is also great made with basil.

Enjoy.